"As litigators, our job is to persuade - whether through a brief, questioning a witness, or delivering an argument. At trial, we try to make one of two or more possible scenarios seem more likely to have occurred despite gaps in information, inconsistent evidence and faulty memories or perceptions. We encourage judges or juries to focus on the one thing we impeached a witness about in arguing they should disregard other things the witness said that seem credible (e.g., relying on the "halo effect"). And, of course, in discrimination cases we rely upon "ingroup bias" and "stereotyping" to help prove disparate treatment.

Thus, as litigators, we trade in cognitive biases daily (just like marketers). Knowingly or not, we find ourselves relying on cognitive biases or attempting to overcome them, as circumstances dictate. Understanding these biases and how they work is central to what we do on a daily basis."